Golfo dei Poeti
by micas_pt
Golfo dei Poeti (Poet’s Gulf) is the name of this coast, also known as La Spezia’s Gulf. It spreads from Portovenere and the Cinque Terre till Lerici, being that La Spezia is situated on a bay.
It is said that Byron and Shelley named the area, since both were great admirers of this beautiful coastal landscape. They say that Byron once swam across the bay from Portovenere till San Terenzo to visit Shelley.
Orange trees
by micas_pt
Something I noticed in this part of Italy is that streets are lined with orange trees, same thing as in some areas of Portugal (my home country). La Spezia is no exception and while strolling through the city's streets you will notice the orange trees covered in oranges (July) making streets even more colourful. In my opinion, the orange trees make the city look less impersonal and seem cosier, as if walking on a small village or backyard.
Porto Venere
by AlexDJ
Porto Venere is an amazing place very close to La Spezia, in a quiet corner of the gulf and on my opinion is one of the best location which worth a visit here. From its picturesque port, you may explore the narrow street climbig up to the center and up again to the church that dominates all the town. Here you will find a lot of shops selling the typical dishes of this part of Liguria.
La Spezia
by UK_Man
I was invited to visit La Spezia a few years ago by Stefano, a work colleague who lives in the town, and this year (August 2002) I actually manaaged to get there.
Now I wish i had made time earlier - it was a fantastic weekend in a very beautiful part of Italy.
Stefano and his family showed me around the area, and I was lucky enough to be there at the time of the celebration of the 'White Madonna' at Porto Venere, just along the bay.
La Spezia is a small town in northern Italy that has grown up around the largest if Italy's naval bases.
The bay is protected by a large man-made barrier which gives near perfect sailing conditions in the bay whatever the time of year.
The surrounding hills are dotted with small pictureque villages, and are well worth a visit.